- #1
Seraphin
- 8
- 0
I used to always wondered why people in my age group were hopelessly passionate and seemed to fall into the stereotype of 'young and restless dreamers' until a few years ago.
As I go on in college, I, as well as many other people my age, have to make more and more choices and seriously consider what our lives will be like in five, ten, fifteen years instead of going along the common track that most people follow before they graduate high school. I don't know how much sympathy I'll find in this forum but I thought I'd try since a great deal of you are older and wiser and have been in my position before, perhaps.
I always used to hear stories about how people walked off into the sunset with their new college degrees and grand ideas of how they would make a difference or lead the sort of lives they always wanted to, only to later turn into a dissatisfied, bitter person with a boring job and lackluster personal relationships. It seems far more common than one would think and even though it's perhaps selfish of me I don't want an 'okay' life. I want a full life, an exciting and meaningful one that is lived the way I want to, not one that I will eventually come to accept as inevitable. I've tried talking to people about this but the result seems to be depressing and they usually tell me that I'll marry a nice, sensible man and have a nice, sensible career and learn to be happy with the sort of life 'everyone else' has, regardless of how I feel now.
It's the same routine, over and over again at this point in my life. I know that I need to work to get good grades and to be proficient in my area, even if it may seem boring now. I don't mind the work as long as the end is worth it. I know that opportunities won't find me by themselves and that to be happy you need to seize it for yourself, but it's difficult to do this sort of thing when everyone around you is resigned and has no aspirations beyond maybe not failing that chemistry exam and getting a stable, albeit boring career.
Ugh, now I know why so many decent young adults turn into stark raving Randians or cynics within the space of a few years. I'm asking for advice; is there any advice I can solicit? I can't live this way for the rest of my life and it feels like there is no one around who can help beyond the usual "there, there. You'll grow out of it" assertions.
And any whiny or condescending overtones in this post are completely unintentional. I realize that in voicing this concern, I have fallen into the 'young and restless' stereotype myself but any advice from people older and more experienced than myself is worth the derision.
As I go on in college, I, as well as many other people my age, have to make more and more choices and seriously consider what our lives will be like in five, ten, fifteen years instead of going along the common track that most people follow before they graduate high school. I don't know how much sympathy I'll find in this forum but I thought I'd try since a great deal of you are older and wiser and have been in my position before, perhaps.
I always used to hear stories about how people walked off into the sunset with their new college degrees and grand ideas of how they would make a difference or lead the sort of lives they always wanted to, only to later turn into a dissatisfied, bitter person with a boring job and lackluster personal relationships. It seems far more common than one would think and even though it's perhaps selfish of me I don't want an 'okay' life. I want a full life, an exciting and meaningful one that is lived the way I want to, not one that I will eventually come to accept as inevitable. I've tried talking to people about this but the result seems to be depressing and they usually tell me that I'll marry a nice, sensible man and have a nice, sensible career and learn to be happy with the sort of life 'everyone else' has, regardless of how I feel now.
It's the same routine, over and over again at this point in my life. I know that I need to work to get good grades and to be proficient in my area, even if it may seem boring now. I don't mind the work as long as the end is worth it. I know that opportunities won't find me by themselves and that to be happy you need to seize it for yourself, but it's difficult to do this sort of thing when everyone around you is resigned and has no aspirations beyond maybe not failing that chemistry exam and getting a stable, albeit boring career.
Ugh, now I know why so many decent young adults turn into stark raving Randians or cynics within the space of a few years. I'm asking for advice; is there any advice I can solicit? I can't live this way for the rest of my life and it feels like there is no one around who can help beyond the usual "there, there. You'll grow out of it" assertions.
And any whiny or condescending overtones in this post are completely unintentional. I realize that in voicing this concern, I have fallen into the 'young and restless' stereotype myself but any advice from people older and more experienced than myself is worth the derision.